Is it me or is pro soccer just never going to fly in the US?

[Old Moparz]

Never cared for soccer. It's just basketball played on the grass, only you can't use your hands so they made the goals bigger.

[bakerhillpins]

What was that last goal annulment? It wasn't offside.  

it was bullshit, that's what it was. 

Well, now people are starting to care. Everyone understands BS calls by the refs. Maybe it was engineered to piss us off so we'll spend gobs of money on pro soccer and show 'em next time.

I always cared, just not on DC.com... until now that is. 

[elacruze]

Hm. Lemme think...

Golf
Tennis
Baseball
Basketball
NASCAR
IRL

I'll take Soccer and World Rally any time I can get it.

[W4ATL]

What was that last goal annulment? It wasn't offside.  

Just read this morning that they are saying Bocanegra was holding a Slovenian and preventing him from jumping for the ball. If you look at the replay you can make that argument, but the Slovenian he was supposedly holding had a headlock on Bocanegra.  Where are you supposed to put your arms when you are in a headlock?  Doesn't that ref watch any professional wrestling?

[gtx6970]

I'd rather watch a 0-0 soccer game than a 3 1/2 hour baseball game that ends 1-0.

Ditto, my girls play soccer and I got interested in the game over time. I do enjoy watching it, but don't have enough time in the day to stay glued to a TV for hours at a time.
I have NO interest in baseball.

[Hemidog]

Could someone explain to a non US citizen why baseball is/was an interesting spectator sport?

Alcohol?

[nh_mopar_fan]

because hitting a 100mph baseball with a bat is the single hardest thing to do in any sport. period.

Soccer isn't popular in the US because we have choices. Professional baseball, football, hockey, basketball, NASCAR.....

Soccer was supposed to be the sport of the 80s. All those kiddies were playing it on the local town fields and when they grew up, it was going to be huge.

30 years later...still waiting.

One word why soccer sucks: DRAW.

Wake me when it's over.

[Mike DC]

Being an ice hockey goalie means facing a puck shot faster than a pitcher could throw it, and trying to purposely get your body in front of it.  While on ice skates. 



 

[nh_mopar_fan]

That's some quick reaction time there as well, even though they know it's coming.

Still not the same as hitting a round ball with a round bat though.

[Ponch ®]

because hitting a 100mph baseball with a bat is the single hardest thing to do in any sport. period.

A lot of sports have similar nuances and articles of finesse along those lines too. Like Mike said, a hockey goalie stopping a shot, or making a three pointer in basketball...hell, ill even include soccer - every been on either side of a penalty kick?

Could someone explain to a non US citizen why baseball is/was an interesting spectator sport?

Alcohol?

I can't stand to watch it on Tv, unless is some crucial playoff/world series game. I love going to the park and seeing a game in person, but at least for me, it's all about the ambience, hanging out with my buddies, eating Dodger dogs and drinking beer, making fun of people, and calling Giants fans 'fags' more than the game itself.

Gotta hand it to the old timers that will sit through the entire game with an old transitor radio and scoring sheets on their laps. But like soccer, unless you're playing it, baseball is a boring game. That's why every time a legendary broadcaster dies, theyre always eulogized and remembered not as great play by play men, but as great storytellers, etc...and its because if they just stuck to the game itself they would put you to sleep.

[loudmouthaussie]

australia has taken a pounding this world cup - from the referees mainly!

football (soccer) needs to embrace the video referee system we have in rugby league and maybe harden the fuck up a bit! 

our sense of sportsmanship is probably similar to USA. you dont throw yourself on the ground and fake an injury to get a penalty advantage 

ive lived in east end of london and i think the most interesting part of it is the hooligans 

[Old Moparz]

because hitting a 100mph baseball with a bat is the single hardest thing to do in any sport. period.

Soccer isn't popular in the US because we have choices. Professional baseball, football, hockey, basketball, NASCAR.....

Soccer was supposed to be the sport of the 80s. All those kiddies were playing it on the local town fields and when they grew up, it was going to be huge.

30 years later...still waiting.

One word why soccer sucks: DRAW.

Wake me when it's over.

You're absolutely right, Pele was a hero for a few years, then disappeared. I remember back in the 80's someone involved with Little League telling me that the sign ups that winter were way down & that soccer was the new big thing. I cringed since I never liked soccer, & wondered if some of the Little League fields would get bulldozed & have soccer goals put up? 

[mikepmcs]

I just forced myself to watch the 2nd half or whatever it was of the New Zealand-Italy match up.

Yup, I still think it's the most boring sport in the world.  
I really tried to get into it but just couldn't.

Field is too big.
Not enough shots on goal(seems like they purposely run out the clock)
Terrible acting trying to waste time faking injuries just so they can rest
it goes on............. it's pointless to me why so much time and so big a field.

cut the time and shorten the field.

don't they have indoor soccer or something. I need to google that up.

[Ponch ®]

I just forced myself to watch the 2nd half or whatever it was of the New Zealand-Italy match up.

Yup, I still think it's the most boring sport in the world.  
I really tried to get into it but just couldn't.

Field is too big.
Not enough shots on goal(seems like they purposely run out the clock)
Terrible acting trying to waste time faking injuries just so they can rest
it goes on............. it's pointless to me why so much time and so big a field.

cut the time and shorten the field.

don't they have indoor soccer or something. I need to google that up.

of all the reasons why someone doesn't like soccer vs. other sports the whole flopping/time wasting thing should be the least of them. Soccer players do it because unlike in other sports, there are no timeouts or clock stoppages, so if they need to take a breather they might stay on the ground a few seconds longer. It's still not as egregious as the 5 minutes it takes for a pitcher to warm up in the middle of an inning, or why the last 2 minutes of a basketball or football game take half an hour...and don't even get me started on "taking a knee" in football.

[Duchess]

Soccer won't catch on.  Just too slow paced I think.

[BigRed66]

Memo to "The Media":

Soccer sucks. Quit trying to make us like it. My mom tried to make me like asparagus and brussel sprouts, and all it did was assure the fact that I would never enjoy something being, literally in this case, shoved down my throat. My daughters play soccer, and I support them because it makes them happy, much as my wife loves fried liver, calimari, and escargot; I wouldn't touch the stuff if you paid me, but, she likes it, so, what the hey. But, soccer? It SUCKS. Quit trying to make America like it. We don't. We never will. We like Mopars, not Citroens and Yugos. We like football, in the cold, played by real men, not mulleted twinks in satin shorts. We like baseball, not some stupid game named after a bug that rubs it's legs together...both annoy us. Red, White, and Blue means we will never like soccer. Sorry, rest-of-the-world.

Besides which, FIFA sounds a lot like "Foofie" to me...    

[Old Moparz]

Memo to "The Media":

Soccer sucks. Quit trying to make us like it. My mom tried to make me like asparagus and brussel sprouts, and all it did was assure the fact that I would never enjoy something being, literally in this case, shoved down my throat. My daughters play soccer, and I support them because it makes them happy, much as my wife loves fried liver, calimari, and escargot; I wouldn't touch the stuff if you paid me, but, she likes it, so, what the hey. But, soccer? It SUCKS. Quit trying to make America like it. We don't. We never will. We like Mopars, not Citroens and Yugos. We like football, in the cold, played by real men, not mulleted twinks in satin shorts. We like baseball, not some stupid game named after a bug that rubs it's legs together...both annoy us. Red, White, and Blue means we will never like soccer. Sorry, rest-of-the-world.

Besides which, FIFA sounds a lot like "Foofie" to me...    

LOL.... 

[472 R/T SE]

Curtis, I guess it's a good thing I didn't send you video of my daughter & her fancy footwork.  Korynn just started her first season on a Select soccer team, the Timbers.   It's entertaining watching her with the ball, she's been the best @ dribbling the ball on her past two teams.
She likes playing defense & it brings great joy to watch her take the ball from that position to the opposing goal for a shot.

Boring...I don't about that.  I'm usually sitting on the edge of my chair for her games.

With the wife in night school I tote Korynn to her twice a week practices, I be a Magnum driving soccer Dad.

[Nacho-RT74]

Could someone explain to a non US citizen why baseball is/was an interesting spectator sport?

Alcohol?

something like that it was what I was to say... FOOTBALL ( the real one, note the image for the reason ) doesn't have time outs to make popcorns and get a beer .



FOOTBALL

MAKE THE COLOR ASOCIATION

Beside that... American football just have action for a couple of seconds before stop the player or loose the ball. Then the rest is just talk talk talk and hit one over one. thats all... BASEBALL A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE SAME ( maybe thats the reason you'll find FAT guys on those "sports" )... Basketball or hockey are diff for sure.

ball? Come oooon balls are ROUND.

[bull]

Those "fat" guys can outrun most people in a 40-yard sprint. And when those futbal players get tired of making minimum wage running their butts off for 2 goals in three hours they become punters/kickers in the NFL for what President Chávez makes in two years.

[bull]

Curtis, I guess it's a good thing I didn't send you video of my daughter & her fancy footwork.  Korynn just started her first season on a Select soccer team, the Timbers.   It's entertaining watching her with the ball, she's been the best @ dribbling the ball on her past two teams.
She likes playing defense & it brings great joy to watch her take the ball from that position to the opposing goal for a shot.

Boring...I don't about that.  I'm usually sitting on the edge of my chair for her games.

With the wife in night school I tote Korynn to her twice a week practices, I be a Magnum driving soccer Dad.

Pro soccer. I know people love watching their kids play but we were being told 20-30 years ago that those kid leagues would translate into a big professional following soon. It hasn't happened and it doesn't look like it ever will.

[Ponch ®]

Those "fat" guys can outrun most people in a 40-yard sprint. And when those futbal players get tired of making minimum wage running their butts off for 2 goals in three hours they become punters/kickers in the NFL for what President Chávez makes in two years.

hahah...you do know that some of the highest paid athletes in the world are soccer players, right? and that in some cases teams will pay another team $50 million just for the rights to a player (and doesn't include what theyre gonna pay him)?

Yeah, those fat guys could outrun most people in a 40 yard sprint, but that's about it. then they sit down or stand around for 20 minutes before they have to do it again. Soccer players play it through, non stop for 45 minutes, then another 45. And its not like hockey or basketball, where players are constantly subbing in and out to let them rest.

[PocketThunder]

Yeah, those fat guys could outrun most people in a 40 yard sprint, but that's about it. then they sit down or stand around for 20 minutes before they have to do it again. Soccer players play it through, non stop for 45 minutes, then another 45. And its not like hockey or basketball, where players are constantly subbing in and out to let them rest.

They dont have subs?  How many players are suited up for a game in pro soccer?

EDIT:  After a trip to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer

looks like 11 guys to a team, 1 goalie and all 10 players on the field.  I guess that shows how much Association Football i've watched in my lifetime.. 

Did you guys know i'm the soccer coach for my sons kindergarten soccer team this year?   

[bull]

Those "fat" guys can outrun most people in a 40-yard sprint. And when those futbal players get tired of making minimum wage running their butts off for 2 goals in three hours they become punters/kickers in the NFL for what President Chávez makes in two years.

hahah...you do know that some of the highest paid athletes in the world are soccer players, right? and that in some cases teams will pay another team $50 million just for the rights to a player (and doesn't include what theyre gonna pay him)?

Yeah, those fat guys could outrun most people in a 40 yard sprint, but that's about it. then they sit down or stand around for 20 minutes before they have to do it again. Soccer players play it through, non stop for 45 minutes, then another 45. And its not like hockey or basketball, where players are constantly subbing in and out to let them rest.

How much do they make? I'd be very surprised if it's anywhere near what a pro athlete makes in the US. And tons of running does not translate to watchability in the US like big plays, trick plays, talent and athleticism does. Maybe people in other countries like to watch people running and running and running for hours but here in the US they call that a marathon and it's boring.

[Ponch ®]

They dont have subs?  How many players are suited up for a game in pro soccer?

EDIT:  After a trip to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer

looks like 11 guys to a team, 1 goalie and all 10 players on the field.  I guess that shows how much Association Football i've watched in my lifetime..  

Did you guys know i'm the soccer coach for my sons kindergarten soccer team this year?  

yep...11 per team. In most pro leagues and international competitions there are only 3 substitutions allowed (used to be only 2 until 10-15 years ago) per team per game, and once you come out you can't go back in. Most of the time they'll save the last substition until the last few minutes of the game, because if one of your players gets injured and you've already used up all 3, your SOL....you're gonna be a man down.

Those "fat" guys can outrun most people in a 40-yard sprint. And when those futbal players get tired of making minimum wage running their butts off for 2 goals in three hours they become punters/kickers in the NFL for what President Chávez makes in two years.

hahah...you do know that some of the highest paid athletes in the world are soccer players, right? and that in some cases teams will pay another team $50 million just for the rights to a player (and doesn't include what theyre gonna pay him)?

Yeah, those fat guys could outrun most people in a 40 yard sprint, but that's about it. then they sit down or stand around for 20 minutes before they have to do it again. Soccer players play it through, non stop for 45 minutes, then another 45. And its not like hockey or basketball, where players are constantly subbing in and out to let them rest.

How much do they make? I'd be very surprised if it's anywhere near what a pro athlete makes in the US. And tons of running does not translate to watchability in the US like big plays, trick plays, talent and athleticism does. Maybe people in other countries like to watch people running and running and running for hours but here in the US they call that a marathon and it's boring.

Guys like Cristiano Ronaldo, Drogba, Wayne Rooney, and Beckham (esp. before he started to get old) can and have pulled NBA/NFL numbers, if not better...in the $20-40 mil/year range once you factor in endorsements and all that stuff. And last year Real Madrid paid Manchester United something like 80 million pounds (not exactly sure what the exchange rate was at the time, but it's well over $100 mil USD) just for Ronaldo's transfer.

The money in soccer is no joke. Here's another one for you to ponder: In last years Forbes' list of the most valuable sports teams Manchester United was worth $1.8 bil...more than the Cowboys, the Yankees, or any other NFL/MLB/NBA team.


Again, I see what you're saying about how soccer can be boring and lacks the constant action and big plays us Americans like in football and basketball...but still doesn't explain why we do like of baseball, golf, and NASCAR, which 90% of the time are snoozefests. I still think it's one of those "we didn't invent it and we're really not that great at it, so to hell with it" deals.